- Users are reporting a persistent Google Messages bug
- It repeatedly asks for an emoji reaction to images in chats
- Google has now confirmed that it's just a test for beta users
Update, April 9: Google has confirmed to us that the reported issue of emoji reactions automatically appearing when receiving photos in Google Messages is just a test for some beta users.
A Google spokesperson told us: "We're constantly experimenting and testing new ways to improve our products for our users. This feature is a test experiment currently running for a limited group as part of our Google Messages beta programs."
You can read our original story below.
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We're seeing multiple reports of a rather annoying emoji reaction bug in Google Messages – one that prompts you to apply a reaction to the last received message before you can do anything else, if the last message in the chat was an image.
These reports surfaced on Reddit (via Android Police) in the last few days, and it seems quite a few users have come across them. It doesn't really break the app, but it does make for a more frustrating user experience.
Emoji reactions were added to Google Messages last year, one of several upgrades rolled out to the app recently to help it catch up to the other popular messaging services out there, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and iMessage.
It means you can react to any message with an emoji of your choice, rather than sending a full reply: but with this bug users are being prompted to leave a reaction as soon as they go back to a chat. Ordinarily, you need to long press a message to bring up the emojis.
Finding a fix
Reactions automatically popping up from r/GoogleMessages
As far as bugs in Google Messages go, this isn't the most serious we've ever come across. The easiest way to fix the problem is to send a standard text message to add to the chat, which seems to resume normal service again. We've asked Google for an update on the issue and will update this story if we hear back.
The bug also seems to be affecting users of the beta version of Google Messages too – so you could try updating to the latest stable release to solve the issue. You can do this from the Google Messages listing in the Play Store app on your phone.
Hopefully this annoyance will be caught before it rolls out more widely, which should be the case if it's only beta users who are affected. After all, the whole purpose of beta testing is to squash these kinds of bugs ahead of a full update.
Diligent code diggers have spotted numerous new features apparently on the way to Google Messages: it looks likely that we'll see improvements to how longer texts are handled, and how you can manage your busy group chats.
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